Page 50 of Bewitched By the Headless Horseman
Stevie held her tongue from saying she wasn’t finished yet. “There’s more. Lucia felt that the ground in our town was hollower, warmer, and pulsing. I’m not sure if you received Lucia’s second letter, but the fog has grown thicker, lingering, the darkness comes earlier each day, and the stars’ lights have started to flicker out. There’s no doubt in my mind that Levi is planning something for the new moon.”
“We’re not sure what though,” Lucia added.
“You’re accurate.” Adelia took a sip of her drink. “The gate of the Hollow is threatening to open. I knew as soon as I returned.”
“What gate?” Lucia asked, her eyes widening.
“I’ve never heard of any gates,” Kit said, his body turning toward Stevie. And neither had she…
“Of course not. Even the Crowned Witch has rules she must obey, but because of what is occurring now, they must be broken.” She set her goblet on the table. “The Hollow has seven gates around the world that were sealed long ago. However, on the night when both Eyes are open, the seal of the gate in this very town can be broken with the head of a male seer.”
So the Eyes of the Hollow were literally the Eyes of theHollow.
“I’m going to tear that bastard’s head off myself,” Kit growled.
“Levi has a seer’s head. Kit’s,” Stevie rushed out. “The ghost part he can grasp, but we’re not sure about the physical one. An empty box was left in a tree for us to find, and Kit’s hair was placed there to taunt us, the head missing. If he needs it to open the gate, then someone living would have to bring it.”
Adelia snapped her fingers, the sound like thunder. A book of old leather drifted into the room, straight into the witch’s waiting hands. “Show me the seers living in Sleepy Hollow,” she instructed the tome. The book flew open, the pages flipping until they came to a sudden stop. She clucked her tongue and spoke again, “Now take me to Levi Brom Bonham’s living blood relatives.” Her cool gaze lifted to Stevie after several seconds ticked by. “It seems our Levi has a living family member who is a seer. Reese Willoughby.”
Stevie’s eyes widened.Reese.
“I knew there was something off about him,” Kit spat.
“That doesn’t mean he has the head or consulted with Levi,” Lucia said.
“He might not. There are other seers here.” Adelia focused on Stevie as if she could be a suspect for assisting the warlock. “But if there is a possibility that Levi doesn’t truly have the Horseman’s physical head, it would mean he could find a way to use Reese’s,” Adelia added. “This we will keep from the council for now. I will search for Levi myself, and Stevie will bring Reese here. As for you, Lucia, it looks as though I will begin your Crowned Witch training sooner than expected. It will start tomorrow morning.”
Chapter Nineteen
“That was an interesting turn of events,” Stevie said to Lucia as they drove back home after their meeting. Adelia couldn’t do anything to get Levi’s magic out of her any faster, nor was Kit’s hair any good to her. One thing was for sure though—reattaching Kit’s head wouldn’t bring hungry demons to Sleepy Hollow. However, Levi playing with Kit’s head at the gate could. “And congrats to you, Soon-to-be Crowned Witch.”
“Reese was acting strange at the bonfire since I was standing right beside you,” Kit mumbled from the backseat.
“It makes sense now.” Stevie recalled the bonfire, the way he’d saidparanormal. How he’d sent her a picture of a house with pumpkins, hinting that he knew the Headless Horseman had been around her.
“What makes sense?” Lucia asked.
“When I saw Reese at the bonfire he seemed different. I thought it had something to do with you since I’d told him I was busy helping you until after the Eye. But now I know it’s because he’s seen the Headless Horseman with me. He was in myhousewith him. He could see him all this time. Not once did his gaze ever drift in Kit’s or Roxy’s direction though...”
“He could’ve been waiting for you to tell him?” Lucia guessed.
“Or he could’ve been trained,” Kit said between what had to be a clenched jaw.
“As Kit just said, being trained would be a possibility since Levi could’ve talked to him.” Stevie sighed and glanced at her phone, hoping a text was there. She’d messaged Reese from Adelia’s, asking him if he could come over tomorrow to discuss the comic books. Kit had wanted to pay Reese a visit right then, but bothAdelia and Lucia had agreed that he shouldn’t go alone,not after Inferno went missing. All they needed was for Stevie to bring Reese to Adelia’s.
Lucia turned down a narrow street, the lampposts barely providing any light at all, the fog and darkness holding the town of Sleepy Hollow in its clutches. “Nothing from him yet?”
“Zilch.” After she’d practically blown him off, it was expected. But still. He was the one who’d also mentioned getting Gideon comics. She couldn’t really be mad that Reese hadn’t told her he was a seer because she hadn’t confided in him either. While on their couple of lukewarm dates, there wasn’t a reason to anyway. All she could think about was the date when Kit had talked about him right inside her house, and not once had there been a change in Reese’s expression. Could he have known Kit had already been there before? He had to have.
After they went by Reese’s street, finding his car gone, Lucia drove them home. She gave Stevie a tight hug on the porch. “Just stay safe, and remember, I’m only a door away.”
Kit slipped into the house just as Gideon opened the other door. “I stayed on alert the whole time,” he said to Lucia, waggling his brows.
“At least wait until I get inside, Gideon!” Stevie groaned just as the bolt unlocked for her. “That’s my cue. Goodnight!” She shut the door behind her and gave Roxy a pet with her eyes closed in the kitchen. Stevie then sank onto a chair at the table, where Kit had poured her a glass of milk. “You’re the best.”
“I could hear those words for eternity from your lips.”
Stevie smiled, her cheeks heating as she checked her phone again, then searched Reese’s name. It was the same as before, things to do with the convention he ran. Even his social media didn’t have much about him, only pictures of comic books and action figures.
